Vinegar and Water

My friend I.E. grew up in Switzerland, and came to America with her husband in about 1960.  She was trained as a nurse.  We have had some great conversations about herbs, and today, she shared with me a very simple poultice wrap.  Her ankle is bruised, with a little bit of swelling, and she is treating it with an Vinegar and Water wrap.

She mixes 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water in a small bowl, and soaks a wash cloth in it.  Then she wrings it out, wraps her ankle with it, wraps a dry hand towel around that, and then secures the whole thing with an ace bandage.  She lets this work for about 20 minutes, and then takes it all off, and yes, the ankle was less swollen and felt better to her.

She also shared with me how she treated her husband for a very high fever with the same treatment, only instead of wrapping his foot, she wrapped his whole body, and she refreshed the vinegar and water every 20 minutes, unwrapping him and resoaking the wrapping sheet in the vinegar and water.  She said that in three hours' time, her husband, who had been delirious with fever, regained a normal temperature and lucid awareness.

I was honored to hear this story!  If you have neighbors or relatives that grew up in other parts of the world, or even in wilder parts of America, don't fail to ask them about how they treated with ailments and mishaps, you could pick up some interesting information.